Product & Innovation

5.00 credits

30.0 h

Teacher(s)

Sinigaglia Nadia;

Language

English
> French-friendly

Prerequisites

Main themes

Among the key determinants of customer receptiveness to innovation is the perceived added value of the innovation. In response to unmet needs, product innovation consists of creating value for the customer, either by improving an existing product/service—both in terms of its attributes and of the customer experience—or by developing radically new solutions for the market. The adoption of an innovation – whether incremental or radical – will always depend on the added value that this solution brings to the customer, relatively to competing or substitute products/services. Marketing therefore plays a particularly important role in the innovation process.
The Product & Innovation course is organized into two parts.
The first part focuses on the challenges of innovation marketing and on the role of marketing in the key stages of the new product/service development process: new product/service ideas generation, product concept development and testing, product/service design (from prototype to final product), technical and marketing tests, preparation for and launching of a new product/service on the market.
A long-term partnership with BASF (worldwide leader in chemistry) provides the opportunity to translate these topics at the light of an international company operating in the B2B sector.
The second part of the course involves completing a project related to one or more stages of the innovation process (from idea generation to product/service launch) in either the B2B or B2C context.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Competencies
Given the LSM competency framework linked to the LSM Master 120 in Management and in Business Engineering, this learning unit contributes to the development and acquisition of the following competencies :

1. Act consciously, aware of their responsibilities, placing human and ethical considerations at the very heart of their thinking and actions, and particularly
- 1.1. Demonstrate independent reasoning, look critically and consciously at acquired knowledge (both academic and common sense).
2. Master an active and integrated command of a multidisciplinary body of knowledge (content, methods. models, conceptual frameworks) essential to act expertly in the various areas of management, and particularly
- 2.1. Master the core knowledge of product innovation.
3. Analyze and resolve problems in multidisciplinary and complex management situations using a scientific and systematic approach, and particularly
- 3.1. Conduct a clear, structured, analytical reasoning by applying, and eventually adapting, scientifically based conceptual frameworks and models, to define and analyze a problem ;
- 3.2. Collect, select and analyze relevant information using rigorous, advanced and appropriate methods ;
- 3.4. Perceptively synthesize the essential elements of a situation, demonstrating a certain conceptual distance, to diagnose and identify pertinent conclusions ;
- 3.5. Produce, through analysis and diagnosis, implementable solutions in context and identify priorities for action.
4. Innovate, initiate and lead change, and particularly
- 4.1. Identify new opportunities, propose creative and useful ideas in situations that require new strategic approaches, break with existing models and paradigms, promote progress and change ;
- 4.2. Help to/and Initiate, develop and implement ideas around a new product, service, process or organizational structure, having evaluated the risks and remain pragmatic.
6. Integrate and work in a team, exercise enlightened leadership within the group, and particularly
- 6.1. Join in and collaborate with team members. Be open and take into consideration the different points of view and ways of thinking, manage differences and conflicts constructively, accept diversity.
7. Define and manage a project to completion, taking into account the objectives, resources and constraints that characterize the project environment, and particularly
- 7.1. Analyse a project within its environment and define the expected outcomes.
8. Communicate, converse effectively and convincingly with the stakeholders, and particularly
- 8.1. Express a clear and structured message, both orally and in writing in their mother tongue, in English (and ideally, in a third language), adapted to the audience and using context specific communication standards.

Learning outcomes
At the end of this course, students are able to:

understand the strategic challenges related to innovation within a company, whether it concerns a new product or a new service, and in both B2C and B2B sectors.
understand the phases of the new product development process – in both B2B and B2C – and implement at least one phase of the development process within the context of a real business problem.
implement the process of carrying out a marketing research project within the framework of a real business problem related to product innovation, that is to say:
- formulate the marketing problem
- choose the most appropriate methodology
- build the measurement tools and collect the data necessary to solve the problem
- analyze and interpret the results scientifically and rigorously
- present the results and formulate concrete managerial recommendations.
and finally, present the main results of the analysis thus conducted in an optimal manner and formulate managerial recommendations.

Content

This course is organized in two parts. In a first part, the course focuses on the following themes: new product/service development process, ideas generation methods, techniques of creativity for new products/services, testing of new concepts, product design, testing of new products, market tests, launch of a new product/service on a market, entry strategies on the market, etc.
A long-term partnership with the BASF company (worldwide leader in Chemistry) provides the opportunity to translate these topics at the light of an international company evolving in the B2B sector.
The second part of this course is devoted to the completion of a project relative to one or several steps of the innovation management process (going from the generation of ideas to the launch of the product/service), in the field of B2B or B2C.

Teaching methods

Lectures
Theoretical session and case study animated by managers from BASF (students' attendance is mandatory). The students get a “BASF certificate” at the end of the class.
Case study coaching
This course follows the 6-week system and implies student on-going work.

Evaluation methods

On-going evaluation throughout the 6 weeks, with final hand-in, at the end of the 6-week period, of a final written report related to the group project completed by students (4 to 5 people per group). This written report will also be presented orally.
The final grade obtained by the student is based on two elements:
- the ongoing evaluation of the process implemented to provide a solution to the marketing problem faced by the chosen company (50% of the final grade)
- the final written report and the oral presentation in group (40% of the final grade), as well as the individual report completed by each student and related to the group project (10% of the final grade).
In case a student does not attend the BASF talk session, s/he will be penalized in his/her grade.
In case of registration to the second exam session, the student will be asked to complete a written add-on report, on the basis of the same marketing problem, and to defend it orally during the official exam session (which will represent 50% of the final grade). The grade linked to the ongoing evaluation of the process (50% of the final grade) remains unchanged for all exam sessions of the current academic year and can not be improved.
Note: In the group/team and individual work assigned in this course, information sources must systematically be cited, according to the academic references standards. In case the student has used a generative AI, s/he must systematically mention the parts of his/her work in which s/he used this tool, by adding a bottom page note indicating if the generative AI tool has been used and the purpose of this use (information search, text writing and/or text revising). The student remains responsible for the content of its production, independently of the references used. Thus, by submitting a team/group or individual work report for evaluation, the student asserts that: (i) it accurately reflects the phenomenon studied, and to do so, s/he must have verified the facts; (ii) s/he has respected all specific requirements of the work assigned to her/him, in particular requirements for transparency and documentation of the scientific approach implemented. If any of these assertions are not true, whether by intent or by negligence, the student has violated his/her commitment to truth with respect to the piece of knowledge produced in the context of his/her work, and possibly to other aspects of academic integrity, which constitutes academic misconduct and will be considered as such.

Online resources

Moodle

Bibliography

TROTT P. (2020), Innovation Management and New Product Development, 7th ed., Pearson.
ULRICH K., EPPINGER S.D. and YANG M.C. (2020), Product Design and Development, 7th Edition, McGraw Hill Education.

Faculty or entity

> CLSM

Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme

Sigle

Credits

Prerequisites

Learning outcomes

Master [120] in Management

GESM2M

Master [60] in Management

GESM2M1

Master [120] in Business Management

GENT2M

Master [120] : Business Engineering

INGE2M

Master [120] in Management

GEST2M

Master [120] : Business Engineering

INGM2M

Master [120] in Management (with work-linked-training)

GESA2M